Crunch
by Emmaplease
Summary: The Flock find themselves in a rubbish situation and Max has a terrible decision to make. More a test of my writing skills than plot or continuity accuracy so...please forgive cheesiness and just enjoy! oh...and review please :D
1. Chapter 1

**Well what can I say about this?**

**Firstly, the concept is awful. I was just fiddling around to make a nice tense atmosphere.**

**Secondly, the writing is terrible. I haven't edited or anything...its too long for that. I just hope there isn't anything too cringey.**

**Third, towards the end there's quite a few OCs...just deal.**

**Fourth, I like to think this is an Iggy/Lissa fic. There's no romantical stuff though.**

Maximum Ride huddled herself into the corner of the cell, sobbing.

Five minutes, she said to herself, five minutes then I'll pull myself together.

An even harder sob escaped her at that, wracking through her entire body, then as a postscript a loud sniff.

"Max?" came a voice from the other side of the wall. "Max, are you crying?"

"No," said Max loudly. "Maybe." she added as an afterthought.

"Don't cry" said Fang, and it was Fang, of course it was Fang.

Max sniffed again.

"Sorry," she said, wiping her face in an attempt to stop, "I was just...just thinking about the last night."

_Flashback._

_Nudge giggled maniacally and snapped the marshmallow of the end of the stick in 10 seconds flat._

_"Go Guy Fawkes" said Fang sardonically, "helping kids get obese since 18-something."_

_"1605" put in Iggy, coating his marshmallow with melted chocolate._

_Angel smiled sleepily from her position in Max's lap._

_"The stars are pretty." she said, stroking Total lazily._

_Five heads turned almost simultaneously to the sky, where the stars sparkled in the night sky._

_And then began to wink out._

_Fang was the first to realise._

_"Erasers!" he shouted, jumping to his feet and taking off._

_There were so many that the flock was overpowered in less than ten minutes._

"Max?" called Fang again, uncertainly. Max hadn't been aware she'd even stopped talking.

"Sorry," said Max, "Lost in memories, I guess."

"You're ok then?" said Fang, still not convinced.

Max nodded, then realised he couldn't see her.

"Yeah. Cuts and bruises from the Erasers, I think I sprained my wrist, that's all though." she reassured. "You?"

Fang groaned.

"You don't want to know."

"I do." insisted Max.

"You don't." said Fang, equally as insistent.

Max sighed.

"Whatever. I'll see them at some point anyway."

There was a moment of silence as both of them realised they had no idea when that would be.

"Have you seen the flock yet?" said Fang abruptly, cutting the silence into shreds.

Max mentally kicked herself for her selfishness. They were just kids.

"Haven't you seen them?" she said, trying to keep her voice calm. "I haven't, not since they brought us in."

"Me neither." said Fang.

A cold snake of fear ran its way down Max's stomach.

"They're just little kids, Fang. Defenceless kids."

Fang made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a growl.

"No-one will lay a finger on the flock, Max, I promise. But its worthwhile remembering, they aren't kids any more than you or I are. They're strong Max, they'll pull through."

Max let out a cry of frustration, got up and started pacing around the tiny cell.

"I just hate not being able to do anything!"

As if on cue, the tiny loudspeaker in the corner of the cell crackled in to life.

"crrrk...delta 2-oh-4 merge cells and prepare for Operation Choice."

The wall separating Max from Fang slid open swiftly, revealing Fang standing bang in the middle of the cell, stooped slightly to fit in under the low ceiling.

"Oh, Fang," said Max, rushing towards him and nearly knocking him over.

Fang grinned and disentangled her from around him.

"No need to get over sentimental, bird girl, its not over till its over." he said, then winced.

Max looked him over to see a patch of red on his grubby shirt.

"Jesus, Fang!" she said, forcing him to sit down on the ground. "What the hell happened?"

"Relax, Max. It's nothing," he said hastily, "don't get your knickers in a twist. Just some eraser with extra nifty claws, I dunno."

"Are you sure you're okay?" frowned Max, folding her arms.

Fang nodded.

Max let out a breath, then quickly drew it back in as the door to the cell opened.

"Help me up, Max." muttered Fang.

Max gave him The Look.

"We can at least look strong." insisted Fang, and grudgingly Max helped him up.

Several Erasers walked in, and behind them came Jeb, his clean white lab coat gleaming in the gloom of the cell.

Max felt Fang grope for her hand and squeeze it reassuringly - he knew her feelings on her biological father.

"Morning guys," said Jeb smoothly, clapping his hand on Fang's shoulder. He winced and wobbled slightly. Max squeezed his hand tightly.

"Get your hands off him." she growled, "You piece of..."

"Now, now, Max," mocked Jeb, "temper temper. I have a few things to discuss with you two."

Max glanced at Fang before nodding brusquely at Jeb.

"Whatever." she said, "Just get whatever crap you want to say over with."

Jeb chuckled and spoke into his walkie-talkie.

"Lower the screen." he said, and a TV screen lowered itself from the ceiling. It crackled into life to show a similar cell to the one they were in, and in it was the flock, Iggy and Nudge and Angel and the Gasman, tied up in the centre of the room. Everyone looked terrified except Iggy, who had closed his blind eyes and looked like he was narrating a story for the benefit of the rest of the flock.

The grip on Fang's hand became iron-strong.

"What. Do you want?" spat out Max, her temper barely under control.

Jeb smiled, a proper evil genius smile.

"A choice Max. That's all."

"Max, I don't want to kill you. Any of you." said Jeb abruptly.

Max snorted.

"Sure." she said. "I believe you."

Fang chuckled quietly.

"Anyway," carried on Jeb, regardless, "as I was saying. You're my daughter, Max, despite our past, and I want to keep you. So, I let you and one of your little flock, say..." his lip curled in amusement, "Fang here, live and the rest of them can be...disposed of appropriately."

Max's knees gave out beneath her for a second as the reality of what Jeb had just said hit her.

"But then I realised," said Jeb, "that you're the strong one, Maximum. The leader. And then I thought, what if I keep the young ones? The most impressionable, I suppose you could say. I'd be right in imagining you wouldn't be too happy to follow me?" queried Jeb.

Max nodded slowly.

"So in the end," finished Jeb, "I realised I just couldn't choose. So its up to you, Maximum Ride."

"What?" breathed Max disbelievingly.

Jeb gave an exasperated sigh.

"Its simple really." he said, "You and Fang, or the little ones. Your choice. I'll bring them in, give you say, ten minutes? That sound fair? Good. See you soon, Max."

And with that, Jeb and his eraser cronies left the room.

Max stared after them disbelievingly.

"I think," she said blandly, "I'm going to explode."

Then she turned to Fang.

"I'm sorry..." she said, tears shining in her eyes.

The door opened then, and the rest of the flock came in. They walked slowly, flanked on either side by Erasers, each one twice their size.

Max allowed herself one last sniff and then pasted a big, fake smile on her face. The Erasers took a mechanical look around the cell, then turned around and stomped out, the key grating in the door behind them. [A/N on reflection, i think the Erasers sound like flipping Cybermen here *sigh* anyway, I have to live with it and so will you :)]

It took Angel all of ten seconds to figure out the situation. The stalwart expression on her face wavered, collapsed and she burst into tears. Max quietly pulled her into a hug, trying not to cry herself, until Angel's sobs quietened into tiny whimpers.

Max released Angel and straightened out her hair, pulling the little blonde curls so they sprang above her shoulders. Then she looked up and saw Iggy, Nudge and the Gasman staring down at her.

"So," said Iggy in a low voice, "what's the plan then?"

"What!?" asked Max, straightening out and brushing herself down.

"You know..." whispered Gazzy, prompting, "how are we going to bust out of here?"

Max looked at Fang.

"There is no plan." she mumbled, unable to look her flock in the eye.

"What?" said Nudge. "Are you freaking kidding, Max? There's no plan?"

"There's always a plan!" insisted Gazzy.

"There always was a plan," said Iggy quietly, carefully examining his shoes. [Despite the fact he's BLIND? Jesus, Emma]

Max looked at him imploringly.

"Don't hate me, Igs," she begged, "I've tried my best, for so long. I just...I've just run out of ideas." she finished limply.

Nudge bit her bottom lip.

"Please don't give up, Max," said Angel suddenly, the grown-up words sounding odd against her girlish voice, "without you...we're nothing."

"I can't!" shouted Max angrily, "Don't you understand? Don't you think I've TRIED to think of a way out of this, I just CAN'T do it. I'm done. I'm USELESS. God, you might as well kill me now, I'm such a stupid....a stupid, useless...stupid...IDIOT!"

Trying not to completely crumble, Max pushed her way out to the opposite wall and pressed her hands against it, trying to vent her fury, fury at the flock for needing her and herself for not being good enough, into the grey stone.

"Max," came Fang's voice from behind her, "its okay. You did-you did your best..."

"Its not okay," said Max twisting and slowly sliding down the wall, no longer really caring what the flock would think. There was silence. They agreed.

The intercom on the wall crackled and Max heard the door open and the Erasers walk in and out again, and then they were gone.

Max felt a new emotion overcome her now. As far as she was concerned, her life was over now. Sealed shut, she was in the twilight moments, inbetween life and death. She opened her eyes and looked out at the cell.

"Well, you fucked that up," said Fang, shaking his head disbelievingly, looking like he was barely concealing his anger.

"What?" asked Max, letting her head fall back against the wall.

"Think about it, Max!" said Fang, and Max couldn't place the emotion in his words, "Last ten minutes with your goddamn family, could you not have made it good?"

It was disgust, realised Max, pure disgust.

"You said it yourself," continued Fang, ranting now, "they're just kids! Defenseless kids, and I quote! You had ten, freaking minutes and you knew it was the last time you were going to talk to them, and where were the words of wisdom? The tender goodbyes they can cherish forever? You were the closest thing they had to a mother, Max!"

"Oh because you can talk!" said Max, leaping up, incensed, "I didn't see any tender crap from you, did I? Oh no, not Fang the freaking...freaking emo angst machine! Maybe next time you can take the responsibility of everybody on earth you care about on your shoulders? Maybe next time it can be your duty to look after your family, instead of winging off on your global warming crap? Couldn't you!"

"There isn't going to be a next time, Ride!" said Fang, absolutely inflamed. "because we're going to die okay? Dead. Over. Finished. Rotting in the ground like the little dead sparrows that cats bring in."

"Shit." said Max, realisation dawning, "shit, shit, shit. What have I done?"

"Language, Timothy," said Fang, a grim smile on his face.

Max wasn't listening.

"Listen, Max." said Fang, trying to break her out of her feverish pace, "Max, listen!"

Max looked at him cynically.

"Right. Before the...before they left, I spoke to Ig, and it's worth remembering we're all about the same age, yeah? So I trust Iggy, and I told him to go to Dr Martinez's when he could, and that his first priority was to keep the flock safe, and escape came second. I also told him that, if we could...we'd try and be as much of a distraction as possible at the...the execution. So they could try and get out of there."

Max bit her lip.

"Did I miss anything out?"

Max shook her head.

"Shit." she said again, too exhausted to change the pattern.

"Shit." agreed Fang, dropping down onto the floor.

There was silence.

"I'm not an emo." said Fang.

"I know." said Max, "So what about this distraction?"


	2. Chapter 2

"So," said Iggy brightly, trying to strike up a conversation with his Flyboy bodyguard, "have you ever been to Massachussetts?"

"He's a robot, Iggy," said Nudge flatly, looking pale.

"Aww, don't judge so fast, Nudge! This Flyboy and I could turn out to be best friends, if it wasn't for the human/android divide and the fact that he's under the employ of my mortal enemy."

Gazzy sniffed loudly.

"So how about Boston, eh?" Iggy asked the Flyboy again.

Angel giggled despite herself.

"Wonder what happens now?" asked Nudge, half to herself.

"Shut up Nudge," said Iggy tightly, finding Gazzy's head and patting it.

They walked along in silence for a while, following the monosyllabic orders of the Flyboys. Iggy had long ago recognised the route they were taking, back to the cell they had been held in, and so wasn't surprised when he heard the metallic click of the door opening. He sat down again, hearing the rest of the flock come in beside him.

"Ok," said Angel, business-like in her tone, "let's have a talk."

Iggy sighed.

"What do you want to talk about, Angel?"

"I don't know," she said churlishly, "it's what Max would do."

"But what would Jesus do?" asked Iggy bitterly.

"Be quiet, Iggy," said Nudge, quietly, "now really isn't the time."

Iggy felt Angel slide into his lap.

"Tell us another story Iggy," she said, curling up.

"Erm..." said Iggy, thinking, "once upon a time?"

"Yeah?" asked Gazzy, sidling up next to Angel.

"Once upon a time, there was a Flock," continued Iggy, decided, "a Flock of birds. And the birds didn't have a very good start in life. They were orphan birds, and the orphanage they lived in was the worst place that anybody had ever seen, worse than the worst prison or the worst haunted house on earth. But one day, they escaped the orphanage, and that was the first and best day of their lives. And ever since, even though their lives were hard, and even though sometimes they couldn't find a birdhouse to sleep in, they were as happy as they could be, because they had each other and they were free. Until one day, everything came to an end, and the birds found themselves in another orphanage. And the Flock got split up, and it made everyone very sad. But the Flock knew this: whatever befell them and however bad their situation seemed, they always had one thing on their side and that was hope. They knew that anything was possible, no matter how bad things were, and that somehow, some way, there would be a way out of their situation. And that made the Flock realise how proud they were of what they had done in their lives, and how much they loved each other, and they knew that whatever happened then, they would always truly have each other, forever."

From the sound of Angel and Gazzy's rhythmic breathing, Iggy assumed they were asleep. Iggy smiled to himself and stroked the front of Angel's hair.

"That was complete bullshit," said Nudge, careful not to wake Gazzy and Angel but still conveying a kind of anger through her voice.

"Wasn't it just," said Iggy.

"I think," said Nudge, musing, "yeah, I really would rather die than go back to how we used to live."

Iggy said nothing.

"That's scary, isn't it?" continued Nudge, "I always thought I'd do anything to live, because when you die, you don't get Gossip Girl, and you don't get hair straighteners and boys, and all those little feelings that creep up on you once or twice a day that make you really glad you're alive. And I'd rather give up all of that, a hundred times over, than do what we're about to do."

"Aww, Nudge," said Iggy, "it isn't forever. That's one thing I've decided. In fact, it isn't going to be that long at all. We got out once, and we will again, right?"

Nudge made a non-commital noise.

"You heard what Fang said, earlier?"

"Yeah," said Nudge quietly, "it won't be enough."

"If it wasn't for Gazzy and Angel, it wouldn't matter. I'd be trying to get out and hang the consequences."

"They're our responsibility now." said Nudge, factual.

"You'd rather be in their position, now, wouldn't you." said Iggy, smiling at himself.

"Mhm," said Nudge, leaning against Iggy, "I'm tired of all this."

Iggy frowned.

"We're officially going to have to wing it later, aren't we?"

***

Six hours later,

Max was woken by rough hands pulling her into a standing position and tying her hands behind her back. Behind her, she heard a scuffle as a couple of guards (human, she was relieved to register) tried to tie up Fang. Max's mouth half smiled at the predictability of the actions.

They were lead through the darkness down a carbon-copy corridor, towards another of the myriad doors they had seen since their arrival. One of the guards moved forwards and looked into the bioscanner in the doorway, a light glowed green and the door slid open, letting out a hiss of air. They walked through and found themselves in a small holding cell, with benches lining the walls. Max started as she realised they weren't empty, and before she could react the guards had let them go and left the room.

Max looked around her, bemused. There were 4 people there- a teenage girl in the corner with a little boy, sobbing, another girl with incredibly long, blonde hair who sat stiffly in the middle of one bench, her ramrod straight back refusing to touch the wall, and two identical twins, asleep under the benches, their overlong hair obscuring their gaunt faces.

Max and Fang stood in the doorway, staring. No-one looked back at them, or registered their arrival.

"Excuse me?" began Max timidly.

The little boy in the corner looked up.

"Who are you?" he asked, sniffing.

"Fang." said Fang.

"Max." said Max slowly, "Who are you?"

"I'm Andy, and this is my sister Hannah," he nudged the girl next to him, "Hannah, look. They have wings."

"Mhm," said Hannah, humouring her brother.

"You're from The School then," said Fang, "or you'd be more surprised."

"Isn't everyone?" asked Hannah bitterly, "that's Emma, by the way."

She nodded her head towards the girl with the long hair.

"I can introduce myself, thankyou," said Emma factually. Max noticed she was the only one with her hands tied infront of her, rather than behind. "I'm double-jointed," she continued, as if reading Max's thoughts, "and bendy enough that I can at least have my hands where I want them."

Max nodded, taking in the facts and stewing them over.

"And who're they?" she asked, motioning towards the twins under the bench.

"Badge and Jean," said Emma, "they're only kids."

"Brilliant," said Fang, sitting down on the empty bench, "just bloody brilliant."

"Oh, be quiet Fang," Max said, sitting down opposite, "so why are you lot here?"

Andy burst back into hysterical sobs.

"They're going to-hic-put us to-to sleep!"

"Aww, come on kid," said Hannah, rubbing the top of his head with her cheek, "we don't know that. We've got no idea why we're here," she explained, turning back to Max and Fang, "what about you?"

"We're being-" began Max grimly, before Fang cut in.

"We don't know either," he said quickly.

Hannah looked quizzically at them both.

Max shook her head, conveying what they were really trying to say so that Andy couldn't hear, and she bit her lip.

"Oh." she said quietly, looking down at her little brother.

Max looked at the group, tears welling unexpectedly in her eyes.

"Angel was still wearing her pyjamas." she said quietly.

"Our...er...sister..." explained Fang as Max's throat worked furiously, "she's going back to the School, her and our brothers."

"You know what's horrible?" continued Max to nobody in particular, "I didn't want them to ever have to see something like this, but they're going to have to, aren't they? It's their only chance!"

"Max..." began Fang, with a loaded look at Andy.

Max scowled.

"Oh, whatever! Like it matters anyway. Sparrows, Fang?"

"Feelings, Max? You are 98% human."

"I'd trade my wings to not be able to feel right now." said Max.

"I wouldn't." said Fang, surprised at the strength of his own feelings, "If there's one thing I'm glad of, it's that I can fly."

"You and your- your birdie friends-" spluttered Max, the emotions in her finally spilling over in the form of tears so that she was unable to continue.

Fang watched her, his eyes unfathomable.

Eventually, she subsided.

"Sorry," she said over-brightly, shaking the hair out of her eyes, "selfish of me."

"How long do you reckon?" asked Hannah quietly, stroking Andy's hair as he dozed off.

"Not long enough," said Fang, brushing it off, "listen. Like I said, we've got siblings and they're going back to the school...and they agree with me that they'd do anything to get out. And, seeing as we're...written off...Max and me had a plan."

"A plan?" asked Emma, intrigued, leaning forward, "What kind of plan?"

"Nothing to get your hopes up," reassured Max, "but Fang and I were planning on being a bit of a distraction, at the...when it comes down to it."

"I'm in," said Emma straight away, "nice to know I'm dying for something."

Max exhaled and half-smiled, relieved.

Fang looked at Hannah, waiting for her verdict.

"If it were Andy..." prompted Max.

"I'm going to do it," said Hannah quietly, "but...but is it going to be messy?"

"For us, you mean?" asked Max, surprised, "Only as messy as the real thing"

For the first time that night, she grinned.

"I really appreciate this, you guys."

Hannah half smiled, absorbed in her own thoughts.

"How long d'you reckon?" asked Emma, drawing up her knees on the bench and looping her cuffed hands over the top, "Damn, it's so cold in here!"

"Revenge is a dish best served cold," noted Max.

***

Iggy woke up abruptly, from dead sleep to completely alert in just seconds, his eyes glowing in the darkness.

My spidey senses are tingeling, he thought to himself, shifting into an upright position.

That was when he heard it, a tiny shifting in the equilibrium of the cell, just a noise.

Iggy counted, 1 2 3...4 deep breathing avian-americans. So who was that?

"Whoever you are," he said steadily, "reveal yourself."

"Hey," said a voice that, whilst familiar, he couldn't quite place, "You probably don't remember me but...I'm Lissa."

Lissa, who was Lissa?

Ah.

"Lissa the Red Haired Wonder?" asked Iggy.

There was a strange noise, a combination between a snort and a laugh.

"Well I certainly have red hair. Went out with your brother Nick for a while?"

"Yeah," said Iggy, "I know. Stupid question, what the hell are you doing here?"

Lissa coughed, embarrassed.

"Well don't get me wrong but...when you guys left school I was kinda curious, so I started keeping tabs on you all, and uh...well I kind of lost Nick somewhere between entering this place and now, but I found you guys and...I figured you could use my help?"

"Have you been stalking F...Nick?" said Iggy accusingly.

"Er-" said Lissa, "in a manner of speaking. I want to be a PI when I'm older." she finished happily.

Iggy raised an eyebrow.

"You go girl. Are you gonna get us out of here? 'Cause, if you are, I should probably wake Nudge."

"I'm going to try. This cell was really easy to get into, once you know the encryption codes which to be frank were pretty simple. And I took the elementary precaution of leaving the door open when I came in, so I guess you can walk out. But the place I'm assuming Max and Nick are is alot harder to get into...in fact, I haven't managed it yet."

"We can work on that." said Iggy, astonished. Did this girl know everything? "Hey Nudge. Nudge. Gazzy, Angel, wake up. I've got a surprise for you."

Slowly, the rest of the flock began to stir.

Iggy pointed towards the open doorway.

"You guys want to get out of here?" he asked. Nudge flung her arms around him.

"We're going to be free!" she squealed.

"Shush!" said Lissa, frantically motioning for quiet.

"What's she doing here?" asked Nudge, hostile.

"Saving our lives, Nudge, now c'mon. Angel, Gazzy, get on up. We're leaving." said Iggy, "well, once we've sprung Max and Fnick, anyway. Oh, and by the way," he said to Lissa as they left the cell, "his name isn't Nick, it's Fang."

"Some PI I'd make," said Lissa, lowering in volume to a whisper as they left the cell.

Iggy said nothing, finding Angel and Gazzy and heading automatically down the corridor they'd gone down to reach Max and Fang's cell before.

"Wait," said Lissa, "the place I'm thinking of is this way."

"I guess they've been moved," said Iggy, "which doesn't bode well."

"Crap," said Nudge eloquently.

"On the plus side," continued Iggy in a whisper, "if it's a technology problem you had with unlocking the cell, Nudge's your girl."

"Really?" asked Lissa, surprised.

"Just because I wear lipgloss doesn't mean I don't have brains!" said Nudge, clearly affronted.

"Right," said Lissa, backing off, "my bad."

"Correct," said Nudge, peering around a corner, "there seems to be a distinct lack of people, twisted science experiments or otherwise."

"Just a guess," hesitated Iggy, "maybe they're all gathered for the execution."

"Which means they'll be coming to get us from the cell we aren't in soon," added Nudge.

"And also executing Max and Fang," added Iggy helpfully.

"Executing?!" asked Lissa, "holy-"

"Yeah, welcome to our world," said Iggy grimly, "Angel?"

"Everyone is in one place," she said, "so Iggy was right."

Lissa exhaled sharply.

"We need to get moving," she said, increasing her pace, "this is one bus we can't afford to miss."

***

There was silence in the holding cell.

Despite the initial excitement over the distraction, the thought of their impending doom had slowly overcome the prisoners and now they sat, loosely grouped around the cell. Max sat against the wall, staring off into the distance, lost in thoughts of the life she would never had.

Suddenly, the wall opposite the door slid open. Max started.

Standing there were a dozen erasers plus Jeb standing in front of them.

"Time, Max." he said, smiling.

Max looked at him, apathetic.

"I don't know why you brought so many of them. We aren't going to be escaping, now are we?"

Jeb chuckled.

"Oh, I wouldn't put it past you, Maximum. At any rate, it doesn't really matter. Should you attempt to, my friends here have their orders. Go on-" he said, motioning to them.

One by one the Erasers walked in, picking up first the still-sleeping Badge and Jean. Emma stood up gracefully when one came for her. Max let herself be pulled to her feet. Even Fang stood up without being dragged, although he looked at the Eraser with such hatred that Max thought she might have seen it flinch.

The beginning of the trail headed out of the room, traipsing automatically down an airless corridor.

"No, let me hold my brother!" came Hannah's voice from behind them. "Please!"

An Eraser stalked past them,Andy slung over his shoulder. Max snuck a look behind and saw Hannah, hysterical to the point of collapse, join the back of the line.

Max took a deep breath.

"This is it-" she said slowly, half to herself.

Fang's lips half quirked up in reply.

***

"Here we are," said Lissa as they rounded a final corridor.

"Nudge-" said Iggy, prompting.

There was a series of beeps and the door opened.

"Peach pie," she said, "oh."

"Damn!" cursed Lissa, "too late."

"Not neccessarily," said Iggy, his stomach plunging, "Angel, can you find them?"

"They're really close," she said, heading to the opposite wall, "through here."

"That's a wall," stated Lissa.

Nudge snorted.

"No it isn't," she said, "look."

The wall slid open.

"Fair enough," said Lissa, "let's get moving. We have to move fast or-"

She didn't voice the rest.

"Right!" said Iggy, organising, "let's move, guys. Full speed!"


	3. Chapter 3

The chill of the night air was the only thing that made Max look up as yet another door opened.

"Oh, very theatrical," said Emma bitterly as they surveyed the set of gallows, and the crowd surrounding them, "tell me Jeb, are you into American History?"

"Very much so," said Jeb, his lip curling.

"Should have brought us here in a cart, then," said Fang under his breath.

"I'd be wearing a bonnet," added Max helpfully.

On seeing the condemned, the crowd roared.

Andy awoke with a wail.

"Hannah? Hannah! Where are you?" he began to struggle wildly in the Eraser's arms.

From the back, Max heard Hannah sob hysterically, unable to answer through sheer emotion.

"Hannah's right back there," said Max softly, moving so that she was able to look in Andy's face, "everything will be fine, okay?"

But Andy was inconsolable.

"What are- what are those, Hannah?!" he wailed, seeing the gallows for the first time, "Hannah I DON'T WANT TO GO TO SLEEP!"

Max bit her lip, overcome by a sudden wave of emotion she thought she'd penned away.

"Now listen Andy...sweetheart, nobody's putting you to sleep, eh? So calm down a little."

She looked at the Eraser.

"Can I hold him? Please?" she pleaded.

The Eraser said nothing.

Max looked at Jeb. He considered, then nodded curtly.

"He needs calming down or we'll never get him to stand still for the noose." he said, "hand him over."

Max felt a sharp stab of hatred for her so-called father, but contented herself with a look of contempt as she took Andy from the Eraser.

"There now, sweetheart. See? Everything's going to be fine." she shushed, jogging the little boy up and down.

"I'm scared of going to sleep max i'm scared of going to sleep i'm scared max i'm scared max i'm scared" he snuffled into her hair.

Max bit her lip.

"Mm-hm," she said, her voice coming out unnaturally high, "well there's no need to be scared Andy, you know why? Because you aren't going to sleep right now, but when you do you'll go to a lovely place called heaven, kay? And Hannah will be there, and Fang and Emma and me will be there as well, and so will all the people you love, so there's no reason to be scared, right? Right?"

Andy nodded, clutching her tightly.

"There we go," whispered Max, wishing fervently that, now of all times, she could believe in God.

Oh my God, ran her internal monologue, I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm too young to die!

Stop, she thought to herself, cutting the string off. There's no need being a mush. Calm down.

Fang caught her eye and half-smiled.

Max tried to smile back, but any emotion was suddenly swallowed by terror as her feet hit the bottom step of the gallows platform. The crowd roared in excitement. Andy began to cry again, but an Eraser took him from Max and stood him up by his own rope. Max took the long walk across the wood to the furthest rope and surveyed the crowds ahead of her, a shudder of fear racking her body. She swallowed.

The condemned were all standing by their own rope now. For the first time, Max saw Badge and Jean awake and marvelled briefly and distantly at how wise their eyes were.

A hooded executioner came and fitted the noose around her neck. The rope was coarse and bristly, and its touch sent a shiver of undiluted terror down her spine.

I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die.

There didn't seem any point in trying to control it any more.

I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die I'm going to die.

Dead. Over. Finished. Rotting in the ground like the little dead sparrows that cats bring in.

Little dead sparrows death dying dead dead dead.

The executioner had finished fitting the nooses now, was walking over to the lever that would release the trapdoor keeping them from death.

Max risked a look across at Fang. He stared straight ahead, muttering words continuously under his breath that she couldn't make out. It was strange, she mused, how even though the problems she confronted were so vast and black, she still felt the cold and how exposed she was to the crowd and to the night.

The executioner placed his hand on the lever.

Little dead sparrows death dying dead dead dead.

A single gunshot rent the cloud in two and hit the executioner. He fell back off the platform and landed, dead.

The crowd went wild, rushing towards the platform.

7 more gunshots rent the air in quick sucession, and Max felt the faint pressure of the rope above her lift. Elated, she grabbed Emma and flexed her wings, which were stiff from lack of use.

Nudge, Angel and Gazzy swept low over the platform, each picking up a non-winged prisoner.

"C'mon, Emma," said Max, sweeping low and picking her up whilst ensuring that the rest got picked up - Fang with Hannah, Nudge with Andy, Angel and Gazzy each taking a twin.

"Where's Iggy?" asked Max, narrowly avoiding being hit by a bullet as they flew high over their prison, taking a route over the building that would ensure it took longer for the crowd to reach them.

"Taking Lissa to safety." informed Nudge, "did I mention she turned up?"

"As in, Red Haired-" I asked, perplexed.

"Yep!" said Nudge, suddenly elated as we passed over the prison boundary, "Long story! Don't worry, we know where to meet them."

I dropped back.

"Angel, Gazzy, are you guys okay?"

"Yeah," puffed Gazzy, "guys, this is hard! How do you manage?"

"Practice," Max grinned, "that and I don't spend my days playing video games."

Gazzy scowled.

They kept flying throughout the night despite their fatigue, until by dawn the next day they reached a waterfall.

"Don't stop, straight through!" said Nudge inexplicably, before diving through the waterfall.

Eventually, they all emerged on the other side.

"Yo," said Iggy, "you lose them?"

"Hopefully," said Fang, looking through the waterfall.

"Hey guys, can we get these handcuffs off?" asked Nudge, "my wrists hurt."

"Ditto," said Iggy, "any ideas, Lissa?"

"Actually, yes." said Lissa, "I carry a penknife."

She began to circulate, the handcuffs popping off as if they were plastic. When she reached Max, they stared at each other for one hard second.

"You know," began Iggy blithely, "it's a good job Lissa's such a crack shot. And a great pickpocket. And a technological whiz. Or we'd be dead right now, weird huh?"

Max had the good grace to look ashamed.

"Point taken, Ig. Thankyou, Lissa. From the bottom of my heart."

"Not a problem," said Lissa brightly, popping the handcuffs off, "there you go."

Max rubbed her wrists.

"Thanks."

Finally, Lissa got on to Emma.

"Christ!" she said, looking at the dried blood running down her wrists.

Emma grimaced.

"My whole thing is that I'm basically made of rubber, so my skin compresses real easy. I guess they had to make them extra tight."

"That's horrible," murmured Lissa, removing the handcuffs. Fresh blood rose up in the welts. "Here,"

She drew out a handkerchief and began to dab at the welts.

"Band aid on a stab wound, I'm afraid," said Emma cheerfully, "they'll heal in time."

Lissa looked unconvinced.

"Don't worry about it," advised Emma, "the School did far worse, in its day."

"Doesn't matter though!" said Nudge, "because we're finished there!"

"Free!" said Max, jumping up and laughing, "isn't it brilliant?"

The mood broken, everyone began to move instinctively, following their elation.

Nudge was dancing with Iggy, Hannah throwing Andy up in the air and catching him as he shrieked with happiness. Max and Fang hugged so tightly she thought it might have been causing bruises, and it didn't matter because, for now at least, they were free. The future awaited.

**Ignore cheesy ending, I got bored at about half 2 this morning :D **

**So, I hope you enjoyed...just out of interest, would anyone want to see backstories for the enormous amounts of OCs (and maybe Lissa)? Because I know what they are. If you do...well, REVIEW DUH.**


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